Virginia Law

A. The Board shall promulgate regulations governing continuing education requirements for geologists licensed by the Board. Such regulations shall require the completion of eight hours annually in continuing education for any license renewal or reinstatement. Except as provided in subdivision C 5, such continuing education shall be completed during the time prior to the renewal or reinstatement of a license and shall only be valid for such renewal or reinstatement. The Board may grant exemptions or waive or reduce the number of continuing education hours required in cases of certified illness or undue hardship.

B. The Board's regulations shall include a requirement that a continuing education activity completed by a licensee may be accepted by the Board provided that such activity:

1. Consists of content and subject matter directly related to the practice of geology;

2. Has a clear purpose and objective that maintains, improves, or expands the skills and knowledge relevant to the practice of geology and is in areas related to business practices, including project management, risk management, and ethics, that have demonstrated relevance to the practice of geology;

3. Is taught by instructors who are competent in the subject matter, either by education or experience, for an activity involving an interaction with an instructor;

4. Contains an assessment at the conclusion of the activity by the sponsor of such activity that verifies that the licensee has successfully achieved the purpose and objective for any self-directed activity; and

5. Results in documentation that verifies the licensee's successful completion of the activity.

C. The Board's regulations shall include requirements related to the computation of continuing education credit, including:

1. That 50 minutes of a continuing education activity equals one hour of continuing education and, for a continuing education activity that consists of segments that are less than 50 minutes, those segments shall be totaled for computation of continued education credit for that activity;

2. The number of hours required to successfully complete any continuing education activity shall be predetermined by the sponsor, and a licensee shall not claim more credit for any continuing education activity than was predetermined by the sponsor at the time the activity was completed;

3. A licensee shall not receive credit for any continuing education activity that was not completed in its entirety and no credit shall be given for partial completion of a continuing education activity;

4. A licensee applying for renewal or reinstatement shall not receive credit for completing a continuing education activity with the same content more than once during the time period prior to the renewal or reinstatement; and

5. A licensee who completes continuing education hours in excess of the hours required by subsection A may carry up to eight hours of continuing education credit forward to meet the requirements of subsection A for the next license renewal.

2026, cc. 462, 463.